Carpet binding sewing machine



April 6, 1965 J. E. GOPPERT 3,176,638

CARPET BINDING SEWING MACHINE Filed May 4, 1962 5 Sheets-Sheet 1 //7 V6 for John Goppan By Ms al/omeys April 6, 1965 J. E. GOPPERT 3,176,638

CARPET BINDING SEWING MACHINE Filed May 4, 1962 s SheetsSheet 2 /m/e/7/0r John Gopperf 5y his affomeys April 6, 1965 J. E. GOPPERT CARPET BINDING SEWING MACHINE 5 Sheets-Sheet 3 Filed May 4, 1962 April 6, 1965 J. E. GOPPERT CARPET BINDING SEWING MACHINE 5 Sheets-Sheet 4 Filed May 4, 1962 my WW w MGm 0 Wm .5 Jm 0w April 6, 1965 J. E. GOPPERT 3,176,638

CARPET BINDING SEWING MACHINE Filed May 4, 1962 5 SheetsSheet 5 I I I I I I L John Gopper/ By his af/omeys United States Patent FiledMayA, 1962, Ser. No. 192,553 6 claims. c1. 112-9 This invention relates to a carpet binding sewing machine and more particularly to a machine adapted successively to sew tape to a carpet, continuing to sew the tape alone when there is no carpet being fed to' the machine and beginning again to sew the tape to a carpet when another piece of carpet is fed to the machine, all in automatic succession. It should be understood that the invention is also useful in sewing rugs and the terms carpet and lug will be used interchangeably in this specification.

In the making of carpets it is customary to attach a binding tape to the edge of the carpet. However, in sewing this tape on, as the machine is fed successive pieces of carpet the machine will sew one edge of the tape to a piece of carpet and then sew beyond that piece. Thereupon it will have to sew the tape alone without any carpet until the next piece of carpet is fed into the machine. In other words, between carpets only the tape is present at the sewing point. It has heretofore been impossible, with known sewing machines, to alternately sew an edge of the tape to a piece of carpet, then have the machine sew tape by itself and then have the machine start sewing another piece of carpet to the tape, all automatically. In accordance with the present invention the machine can feed either carpet and tape together or tape alone. Also a simplified two-thread form of stitch is used which prevents flagging and skipping and yet at the. same time makes it possible to do the sewing at some distance from the edge of the carpet. This is true even in the case of pile carpets. It is characteristic of the present invention that the guide plate extends beyond the needle and that feeding means are provided for the tape alone and for the tape and carpet together. Other advantages of the invention will be revealed as the description proceeds.

In the drawings FIGURE 1 is an exploded view of the parts at the sewing point of a carpet binding sewing machine made in accordance with the invention.

FIGURE 2 is a view in perspective from the front of part of a sewing machine such as forms the basis of FIG- URE 1, showing only tape entering the machine.

FIGURE 3 is a view in perspective from the rear of the machine of FIGURES ,1 and 2, the carpet beingomitted as in FIGURE 2.

FIGURE 4 is an enlarged view in perspectivefrom the front of the machine of FIGURE 2 with a carpet shown in phantom being fed into the machine above the tape.

FIGURE 5 is a view in vertical section lookingfrom V the rear of the embodiment of FIGUREAshowing the feeding position of the carpet.

FIGURE 6 is a view in vertical section looking from the left side of the machine on the sewing line showing the slotted guide plate extending beyond the sewing point and the formation of the stitches. i

' FIGURE 7 is a view from the frontof the machine of the previous figures taken on line 7-7 of FIGURE 2, showing the unitary drive means for the feeding means for the tape and carpet. i

FIGURE 8 is a plan view of the guide plate of the machine which also acts as a stripper.

FIGURE 9 is a plan view of the rug guide plate over which the carpet passes.

FIGURE 10 is a plan view of the bottom or throat plate of themachine.

The embodiment shown in the drawings is what is 3,176,638 Patented Apr. 6, 1965 Ice known as a Union Special 80200 sewingmachine such as isdescribed in US. Patent 1;809,94 1 of June16, .1931, to F. Lutz, for Bed Structure for Sewing Machines; and

in US. Patent 1,884,028 of October 25, 1932, to F. Lutz for Thread Controller for Sewing Machines, modified-to embody the present invention. The main drive shaft 10 is driven by belts and pulleys from the usual motor and as shown in FIGURE 7 is connected 'to a reciprocating rod 11 by an eccentric. The reciprocatory motion thus given rod 11 is transmitted to a rocker 12 pivoted at its lower edge on the frame of the machine. The upper end" of the rocker, by means of connecting rods 24.. and 30, transmits the reciprocation to roll advancing means 23 and 29 axially in line respectively with a heavy toothed rear feed roll 22 for the tape and'a similar toothed feed roll 28 for the carpet. The tape feedroll 22 is connected to the roll advancing means 23 by a shaftzjl. Tnereis a similar shaft 27 for the carpet feed roll. By means of this mechanism the rolls which constitute feeding means for the tape and carpet, respectively, are given intermittent advancement in timed relation'to the cycleio f movement of the needle. This reciprocating needle is identified in the drawings by the number '13. There is'the usual looper 14 associated therewith asfshown, forfe t ample, in FIGURE 6. The looper has an oscillatory movement as usual on bothsides of thelneedlewhich, in cooperation with the needle 'slot 42' and tape guide and stripper plate 32, produces stitchessuch as shown in FIG- URE 6. These stitches are two-thread double chain stitches '(also known as 401 Federal TypeStitch).

For thread supply there are two large spools 43 mounted on the table in back of the machine proper. Associated with them arethe usualthreadrods {36 which receive the yarn from the spools and lead them downwardly as hereinafter described. Qne spool contains the upper or needle thread 18 and the other the :looper,

thread 19. The two yarnsare tensioned and equipped with take up means as follows: 'The needle thread 18,

when it leaves its spool, passes through two stationaryguides 44 and 45] The first is a tubular guide and the second, an eye. Thence the yarn, passes through a"sta tionary disc tensionj l and adjustable guide 4719 some vertically reciprocatory elements. "The latter are carried up and down with the needle 13. They comprise a disc tension 48 and roller guide means '49 preceding the disc tension. Mounted in a stationary mannerpn. the head 17 of the machine 'is afhorizontal tubular stationary thread eyelet checkf50. The thread passes through;

check and as it emerges from the tube it P s a inepressed element 51 that serves to hold the thread against passage in more than one direction; :In view of the ver tical reciprocatory movement of the disc tension 518 just preceding the stationary frame thread eyeletch'eck 50, the] tension 48 pulls thread through the checkwhen the needle is rising. But the thread" goes to the needle from the check 50. Therefore, iwhe'n the needle starts downward it tries to pull the yarn in the oppositedirec tion through the check, but cannot do so against thel spring-pressed element 51 in the check. This "has the effect of taking up slack in the needle thread as the is about to back off and pass to the othersideof needle. The take-up 52 is awell lkn construction Th br te: is n t is e d 77 o On each side of the finger, close to the latter, is a pivoted arm 55 with a shoulder adapted to engage against thethread. As the needle starts to descend, these pivoted arms swing past the thread, drawing back any slack thread.

In the case of the looperthread 19 the thread passes downwardly from the thread rod 36 through a stationary tubular guide 56 and disc tension 58 through an eyelet 57 to the take-up construction above described.

Normally such a machine has two independent bars carrying presser feet. There are also feed dogs and parts for guiding them and driving them as usual.

In the regular sewing machine, the presser feet are fixed vertically and therefore control the feed. In accordance with the present invention feeds are provided which control the presser feet. In other words, the presser foot, in accordance with the present invention, maintains a fixed relation with the feed, namely, with relation to the top feed roll and no adjustment is necessary with a change in thickness of the rug because the presser foot moves up and down with the feed roller. The machine of this invention is believed to be the first one that can sew in two planes. Thus it can sew and move tape alone and at the same time can automatically adjust the rug thickness and continue sewing whether the rug is present or not.

The feeding means, consisting of the feed roll 22 for the tape, is located toward the rear of the machine and the tape which is designated in the drawings by the reference character 40 is kept in contact with these feeding means by rubber roller 25-pressing against the tape with spring pressure as shown. The feeding means for the carpet, on the other hand, is located on the other side of the machine approximately at the point where the needle and its sewing operation takes place. The axle 27 is carried by a block 26 in the head of the machine. As shown in the drawings, this block 26 and consequently the feeding means are vertically movable by means of a pivoted lever. 21 linked to the block 26 by arm 21 and rod 21" on the back side of and within the machine as can be seen in FIGURES 2, 3 and 7. a

Referring now to FIGURES 1, 2, 5 and 6, as already mentioned, the vertically reciprocating needle 13 cooperates with the looper 14 inthe formation of a double chain stitch. To assist in this there is the usualthroat plate 15 located just above the looper and having a slot 16 through which the needle reciprocates. This, combined with the alternation of the looper on both back and front of the needle, in proper timed relationpproduces the desired stitch above the throat plate 15. On the throat plate is the tape guide plate 32 with a groove 33 in the bottom face thereof wide enough to .receive the incoming tape 40 at the front of the machine. URE 1 being taken from the rear of the machine and the tape moving in the direction indicated by the arrow,

it will beseen that the tape held in the groove from the bottom by the throat plate 15 passes under the needle at the sewing point ashort distance before the open end of the slot 42 in the tape guide plate 32. This distance is generally a quarter to three eighths of an inch; that is, the needle is that distance from the end of the open slot.

On top of the tape guide plate 32 is a carpet guide plate'34. This may be adjusted as necessary to the left or right by loosening screws 35, properly positioning the plate 32 and tightening the screws 35. It must be seen that the carpet is some distance above the tape at the time the sewing needle passes therethrough and, as will be. described later on, this distance may, in the case of pile rugs, be even greater than the thickness of the carpet guide plate 34 would indicate. Beside the carpet guide plate 34,as can be seen in FIGURE 5, there is an edge guide 37 of the carpet tending to hold the carpet against the carpet guide plate 34. This edge guide 37 also has an extending ear 38 that can be seen in FIGURE 1. This ear tends to lie on top of the carpet and hold it down. .The end of the leading edge of the edge guide is also bent away from the carpet guide plate 34 to insure the-rug coming into position properly.

In the example shown in-the drawings, a piece of pile carpet is being sewn, the end of the carpet being turned downwardly against the tape guide plate 32 in adirection almost 90 from the plane in which the rest of the carpet lies. The carpet shown is not only a pile carpet but also is rubber-backed so that the guide for the edge of the carpet is really the tape guide plate 32. The carpet 41 is fed under a presser foot 31 and the edge guide 37 is secured to a table by bolts 59 through a slotted arm for adjusting the edge guide to the left or right. The rug guide plate 34 is secured on top of the tape guide plate 32 and maybe adjusted to the left or right as indicated at 35.

It will be noted that asthe feed roll 28 advances the carpet toward the rear of the machine, the needle makes a stitch through the carpet at an angle and at some distance from the edge of the carpet. However, the needle makes a stitch through the binding tape close to one edge of the tape, namely, the edge nearest the edge of the rug. The stitching in the tape therefore is close to the edge of the tape but well back from the edge of the carpet 41. After the tape has been sewn to the edge of the carpet by the machine we are describing and the carpet is removed from the machine, tape 40 cut loose and twistedcounterclockwise up over the edge of the carpet, the free edge of the tape is then sewn in the usual manner to thecarpet. or, if preferred, may merely be glued to the carpet.

Returning now to the novel machine which makes the initial sewing of the tape to the carpet, it will be seen that the needle is really passing through two horizontal planes spaced from each other in one vertical plane. One plane is where it goes through the carpet and the other is where it goes through the binding. That is, the machine will sew and transport tape alone and when rug material is introduced Will simultaneously,.

automatically, adjust to the thickness thereof and sew tape and rug together. Then, when a gap occurs between the pieces of rug material the machine will revert to sewmg .and transporting tape alone. This is the first machine in which this has been possible. Itwill be noted that in this machine the tape guide plate acts as a stripping finger as well as a guide for the tape'and extends beyond the sewing point, i.e. where the needle is located. Having the said plate extend beyond the sewing point enables the machine to sew tape without the carpet and yet tighten up the sewing stitches even if there is no carpet present. Having a rear mounted feed to advance the tape alone and continuing the tape guide 7 plate past the sewing point, and having the said plate act as a stripping finger as well, enables this new machine to end the operations with tight stitches whether the carpet is present or not.

A further advantage of the invention lies in the fact that the machine makes only a two-thread chain stitch, leaving the edge of the carpet free to be covered by the tape at a later operation without overcast binding stitches. Furthermore, this eliminates the ordinary right hand top looper which often causes skipping.

The stripping tape guide plate is to keep the tape down and thereby prevent flagging and skipping. The presser foot 31 is a litle higher than theroll feed 28 and therefore allows the front feed to grab the carpet and pull it, the presser foot still holding and retaining the carpet within the desired position. Where we speak of flagging, we mean that a piece of material is not held down when the needle goes through it and comes up with the needle when the needle comes out of the work. If the material does not stay down or pulls on the thread, no loop is formed on the needle and the looper or hook has to have a loop in order to form a stitch.

It will be noted that by extending the tape guide plate past the sewing needle, i.e. the sewing point, and thus keeping pressure on the materials, this invention makes it possible to sew two materials together in side by side relation. In the embodiment heretofore described, one material was a piece of carpet or rug and the other piece a tape extending laterally beyond the edge of the carpet and adapted to be stitched, gluedor otherwise fastened over the edge in a subsequent operation.

It should be noted, therefore, that it is also possible to obtain some of the advantages of the invention when sewing two pieces of carpet together. This is most easily assomplished by using Union Special Sewing Machine 81200, exemplified by United States Patent 1,861,540 of June 7, 1932, to F. Lutz for Looper Operating Mechanism for Sewing Machines. In this case the bottom carpet is placed face up under the top carpet, which is face down, so that the two pieces face toward each other and the two pieces of carpet are held down against the tape guide plate by the ear 38 of the edge carpet guide. Since the edges of the two carpets will be both bent down approximately 90", as in the case of the previously described method of using the machine, it follows that the stitching is some distance from where the two pieces of carpet will abut. After having been sewn, sufficient length of thread exists to extend between the lines of stitch penetration of the two pieces so that the two carpets can be turned out to side by side position and it will be found, as is characteristic of the product in the invention, that there is no stitching at the point where the two pieces of carpet abut.

In making this construction when sewing pile rugs, the rug guide plate 34 can be removed to save space.

What is claimed is:

1. A carpet binding sewing machine comprising a reciprocating needle at a sewing point, a tape guide plate having an open-ended slot near the closed end of which the needle operates, means beyond the sewing point for feeding a binding tape underneath the tape guide plate, and other means for feeding a carpet above the tape guide plate, in combination with a looper adapted to cooperate with the needle in producing a double chain stitch in the tape and also in the carpet when present at the sewing point, said tape guide plate extending beyond the sewing point; whereby the machine will sew the tape alone or the tape and carpet together, according to what is fed.

2. A carpet binding sewing machine according to claim 1 in which there is a unitary drive for the carpet and tape feed means; whereby the tape feed can continue uninterrupted even whenthe carpet is not present at the sewing point. i

3. A carpet binding sewing machine comprising a reciprocating needle, a tape guide plate having a slot open in the direction of feed of the sewing, the needle operating in the slot spaced from the open end thereof, means for feeding a binding tape underneath the tape guide plate and other means for feeding a carpet above the tape guide plate, in combination with a looper below the tape guide plate adapted to cooperate with the needle in sewing twothread chain stitches in the tape at one level and in the carpet at a higher level, and tensioning means adapted to tighten the stitches after leaving the plate, the portion of the tape guide plate beyond the needle serving to hold the tape down and act as a stripping finger to prevent flagging and skipping of stitches.

4. A carpet binding sewing machine according to claim 3 in which there is a carpet guide plate above the open slot tape guide plate and over which the carpet passes, spacing the carpet well above the tape guide plate, in combination with a carpet edge guide to turn the edge of the carpet at an angle to the horizontal laterally of the needle, the feed of the tape locating the stitching in the tape near one edge thereof; whereby the two materials are united side by side without stitching at the junction of the two materials.

5. A carpet binding sewing machine according to claim 1 in which there is a presser foot for the carpet feeding means mounted on the latter, the feeding means being adapted to adjust its height according to the thickness of the rug, and thereby control the height of the presser foot; whereby the machine can sew and feed tape alone or tape plus carpet and adjust to different carpet thicknesses, all automatically.

6. A carpet binding sewing machine according to claim 1 in which the looper and needle are adapted to cooperate in sewing twothread chain stitches, in combination with tensioning means for each of the two yarns serving to tighten the stitches as soon as they pass beyond the guide plate whether tape alone or the tape and carpet together are being fed.

References Cited by the Examiner UNITED STATES PATENTS 600,503 3/98 Allen 112-7 1,715,119 5/29 Clarkson '112--214 X 1,946,241 2/34 Sailer l12-137 1,975,728 10/34 Moran 11Z-9 2,298,665 10/42 Wesson 112l49 X 2,428,421 10/ 47 Gronenberg 112137 2,43 7,977 3/48 Seamen l12267 2,560,334 7/51 Enos 1129 X 2,692,568 10/ 54 Galkin 112-214 2,949,086 8/60 McFaddin 112- 267 FOREIGN PATENTS 495,986 9/53 Canada.

JORDAN FRANKLIN, Primary Examiner. DAVID J. WILLIAMOWSKI, Examiner. 

1. A CARPET BINDING SEWING MACHINE COMPRISNG A RECIPOROCATING NEEDLE AT A SEWING POINT, A TAPE GUIDE PLATE HAVING AN OPEN-ENDED SLOT NEAR THE CLOSED END OF WHICH THE NEEDLE OPERATES, MEANS BEYOND THE SEWING POINT, FOR FEEDNG A BINDING TAPE UNDERNEATH THE TAPE GUIDE PLATE, AND OTHER MEANS FOR FEEDING A CARPET ABOVE THE TAPE GUIDE PLATE, IN COMBINATION WITH A LOOPER ADAPTED TO COOPERATE WITH THE NEEDLE IN PRODUCING A DOUBLE CHAIN STITCH IN THE TAPE AND ALSO IN THE CARPET WHEN PRESENT AT THE SEWING POINT, SAID TAPE GUIDE PLATE EXTENDING BEYOND THE SEWING POINT; WHEREBY THE MACHINE WILL SEW THE TAPE ALONE OR THE TAPE AND CARPET TOGETHER, ACCORDING TO WHAT IS FED. 